Tim Benz: The differences between Steelers' Antonio Brown and Le'Veon Bell

On the second day of Steelers training camp, a deep pass was lofted downfield.

Wide receiver Antonio Brown made a one-handed, falling catch along the sideline while surrounded by two defenders.

He somehow secured the ball, maintained control, and got his body down in bounds within the traffic.

Antonio Brown with the ridiculous catch pic.twitter.com/kzdBDnhVgO

— BrewCity Network (@BCNSports_) July 28, 2018

No, it wasn't in a game. It was just practice. But physically, it may have been the best of the many spectacular catches I've seen from Brown.

Even if Al Riveron was in the Saint Vincent press box, he wouldn't have had the audacity to overturn that one.

Afterward, Brown was mobbed by fans screaming his name and begging for autographs along the rope line.

Something struck me about that. Brown has had his fair share of highly public controversies. There was the Facebook Live incident after the playoff win in Kansas City, the blue cleats, throwing the water cooler in Baltimore, yapping at Landry Jones three years ago and his social media meltdown prior to minicamp.

Yet Brown's popularity with the fans hasn't been hampered.

What has Brown done to offset those negative headlines? Well, he's honored his contract over the years and lived up to his salary-cap number by excelling on the field at an All-Pro level.

"I'm fired up," Brown said when he arrived at training camp via helicopter. "Excited to be here. Ready to attack the practice field and build towards the year."

Conversely, there is Le'Veon Bell. Technically, he has honored his contract, too. He hasn't missed time while being under contract. Until he signs the franchise tag tender, he isn't holding out.

And Bell has performed to superstar heights as Brown has done.

Unfortunately, here are some other things he also has done:

• He has made himself a victim during two-years' worth of negotiations.

• He has been suspended for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.

• He blamed the fans for being critical of his contract demands.

• He has refused to sign a $14 million franchise tag.

So you can see why the fan base has made a differentiation between the two.

In my dealings with both players over the years, Bell always has come off as friendly, personable, engaging and genuine.

Meanwhile, Brown is always at the center of his own solar system and you just have to figure out which way the planets are orbiting day-to-day.

If there can be such a thing as an unobtrusive diva, it's Antonio Brown.

He's every bit the flashy, big spending, individualist wideout. Yet he usually manages to be that way without being destructive about it.

Like, you know, Dez Bryant. The guy AB was publicly recruiting to the Steelers on Twitter.

Come play with me @DezBryant let's get the chip..........Eat Greedy......Big plates.......

— Antonio Brown (@AB84) July 29, 2018

Yeah. I'd love to see how cool Brown would be with Dez "eating greedy" off his "plate" in the regular season. Let's hope we never find out.

What's really strange is that for long stretches of time, Bell is usually a no-frills, look-you-in-the-eye kind of guy. He gets his 400 touches, performs and goes about his business with a smile and says most of the right things along the way.

Then the topic of his contract comes up and his thumbs get going on Twitter.

Or he spontaneously flakes out, like during the Jacksonville playoff week. Then you wonder where that part of his personality is coming from.

Yet somehow Brown has managed to keep Pittsburgh football fans in the palm of his hand. Meanwhile, Bell is doing whatever he can to push them away.

"It's a business," Brown said of Bell's absence. "Everyone's got to do what's right for their business. When he comes in, I'll welcome him."

Steelers fans will, too, I'm sure. Just so long as he is the 143-yards-from-scrimmage guy that he was over the last 13 games of the regular and postseason. But after that first fumble, or those 3-yards-per-carry performances that we saw at the start of 2017, he's not going to get the benefit of the doubt Brown gets.

At this point, he shouldn't.